A/N: I wrote about a half page of my paper….so I rewarded myself with a chapter of this story. Sigh. Well, I hope you enjoy. Seriously, I can't update for a while...

Charades

Kyoko sat frozen in place, fear slowly replacing relief. Her sempai's face had drained of all blood and he was clutching the edge of the counter top as if he would collapse. Not daring to make a noise, Kyoko trembled in place, longing to call out to him, to touch him….anything to get him to stop looking so…frightened. What felt like hours passed before he finally tore his eyes away from the picture and looked up the little cat shaking on the countertop. She lowered her head, hoping he wasn't angry, and started to back away. 'Maybe if I go away…he'll be okay.' She stood slowly and started to turn away, her ears and tail drooping, when he suddenly caught her and pulled her too him, enveloping her gently in his arms, her head resting in the crook of his neck.

"Kyoko?" She blushed, her fur standing on edge. He had heard him say her name several times in the last few hours, but never had he been speaking to her…and in such an intimate tone. Managing to turn her head upwards, she nodded, golden eyes relieved. "Kyoko." He breathed her name, resting his nose on the cat's head. "Wait." He suddenly held her out, hands around her chest and under her front legs. Squirming, she meowed irritably.

'Put me down!' She cried, twisting in his grip uncomfortably.

"Oh! Sorry." He placed a hand over her lower back and cuddled her to his chest in the crook of his arm, stroking her stomach with his free hand, a teasing smile on his face. "Is this better?" She gave a short hiss and leapt from his arms, walking primly over to the couch and sitting down, licking her front paw. He chuckled and followed, sitting beside her, he crossed his arms.

"So…how did you manage this?" She pinned her ears back. "Not that I'm saying it was your fault..." He trailed off.

"You obviously think this was my fault!" She cried, ears still pinned against her head, and he chuckled again. Now that he knew where she was, safe and sound and close to him, it felt like a giant weight had been taken off his chest and he was finally able to breathe freely.

"Seriously, Kyoko. What happened?" She continued to glare at him. There was no way for her to explain it to him. "Did Lory have anything to do with it?" She thought for a moment, then, in an attempt to mimic his American gesture, she lifted her shoulders and tilted her head. He laughed. "You don't know?" He guessed. She nodded, telling him that he was correct. "Do you even know what happened?" She shook her head, lowering her ears sadly. He sighed, petting her head, and she meowed happily, standing on her back paws and pressing her head against his hand. "Well, there isn't really anything I can think of to do, other than continue taking care of you. Maybe whatever this is will wear off and you can explain properly." She was about to chirp a response when her stomach made a funny noise. His eyes widened and he looked down at her. "Kyoko?" She backed away, ducking under a cushion and tucking into a tight ball.

'Shut up stupid stomach!' She cried. He lifted the cushion and was about to ask again when it dawned on him.

"Oh! You haven't eaten anything since yesterday, have you?" He asked with a frown. "I'm sorry. What do you want to eat?" She looked at him irritably and was certain that he blushed a little for a moment. "Sorry….I keep forgetting that you can't respond. Um…how about hamburger steak?" Before she could stop herself, her eyes lit up and she pricked her ears forward, jumping up and balancing on her back paws briefly. He laughed softly, placing his hand under her lifted front paws and rubbing his thumb over them, much to her embarrassment. "Alright. Hamburger steak with egg it is."

This time, Kyoko walked on her own at Ren's side. The restaurant was only a couple of blocks from his apartment, but she had insisted on coming. (All she had to do was stand by the door and stare at him pleadingly for a few minutes.) Sticking close to him, she looked around in amazement at the city of Tokyo from a cat's perspective. The giant cars rushing by made her nervous, so she slipped to the other side of Ren's legs and trotted along while staring at the shops and businesses, along with the people rushing by. As they got closer to the city center, there were more people walking by with giant feet, and she moved closer and closer to Ren, not wanting to get stepped on.

Ren glanced down nervously from under his ball cap every few seconds. There were more and more people crowding around him, but he was hesitant to pick the cat up now that he knew it was Kyoko. He needn't have worried, because after a few feet that came to close, Kyoko stopped in front of him and tapped his leg. Crouching down, he let her climb onto his shoulder, bringing up a hand to steady her so that she didn't fall or scratch him, and resumed walking. To his surprise, she thanked him with a cold nose in his ear. He brought up a hand to pet her a couple of times, and she quickly draped herself across his shoulder and rested her head against his neck, watching the scenery from a higher perch than ever.

Soon he reached the restaurant and entered, ducking a little to get into the shop. The Okami-san opened her eyes in surprise and was about to speak when the Taisho came out with a cleaver. "You get that cat out of my restaurant!" He snarled. Kyoko whimpered and tried to hide behind Ren's head, accidently clawing him a little. Nodding, he stepped away from the large knife.

"I just want to order some food to go."

"Yea? Leave the cat outside!" Ren glared and stormed through the door, fighting the urge to slam the door on the way out like a child. Kyoko leapt from his shoulder to the ground and pointed to the door with her paw.

"I'm not leaving you here alone!" He cried. She rolled her eyes and sat, her tail curling around her front paws, and regarded him quietly. "I'm sure you will stay here, but what if something happens to you?" She tilted her head and he threw his hands in the air and sighed. "Fine! But stay here, Kyoko! I mean it! Don't wander off. It's dangerous." 'It's dangerous enough when you're a human. I can't let anything happen to you.' He turned away hesitantly and stepped inside, glancing over his shoulder as he entered and spoke to the Okami-san.

Kyoko had every intention in the world to stay still and wait for Ren…until she saw the dog.

Kyoko was not afraid of dogs. She had never met a vicious dog in her life, and often enjoyed petting and cuddling them if she got the chance. However, she knew how dogs viewed cats. Backing away slowly as the stray approached, she slipped into the alley behind the restaurant. "Tsuruga-san is going to kill me." She mumbled. "But that dog might kill me first…" Ducking behind the building, she crouched down as the large dog walked by. 'Please don't see me, please don't….crap.' She stiffened as he froze, sniffing the air, then turned to look at her. She didn't move, even though every fiber of her being wanted to flee. He came closer, sniffing her gingerly, and she remained still, regarding him mutely. Her fur stood up as his wet nose came to close to her face, and she bared her teeth, pinning her ears back. He pulled away for a moment, then resumed walking. As soon as he was out of sight, she slumped to the ground, her heart pounding against her rib cage. 'Tsuruga-san! He told me not to move!" She raced back toward the entrance the alley, turning the corner and running back to the sidewalk, but ran nose first into a foot. About to meow an apology, she was stunned when a foot made contact with her side. Squeaking, she hit the outer wall of the restaurant.

"Stupid cat!" She heard someone snarl, right before her anger antenna, apparently transferable to cat form, darted over to the looming figure a few feet away.

"Hey!" She heard her sempai's voice from her position on the ground. Trying to sit up and calm him down, she was stunned by the sharp pain in her side.

'Why did he kick me?' She wondered, lifting her head to watch the giant man loom over the teenager who shrunk back. Ren was murmuring to the other boy so quietly that even her sensitive ears failed to pick up the words, but from the way the teen paled and backed away, she had a feeling it wasn't good. Finally he turned away with a disgusted look as the teen scurried away and hurried to her side, setting the bags of food down and placing a hand on her side. She found that she was unconsciously purring and found that the vibrations took her mind of the pain.

"You're hurt." She hurt him mumble, his hand pressing into her side with the slightest pressure. She looked up at him with sad, confused eyes, and he slipped a hand under her, wanting to pick her up gently. She meowed sharply at him, baring her teeth. She had no intention of biting him this time, but needed to tell him that he was hurting her in the quickest way possible. "Sorry." He whispered. "I'm going to have to pick you up." His eyes were so sad that she couldn't argue. She nodded and let him lift her carefully into his arms, holding her as still as possible, trying to ignore her whimpers and soft cries of protest that tore at his heart. Carefully he picked up the bag of food and hurried back to his apartment.

The first thing he did was drop the food and lay the limp cat on his sofa. Kyoko closed her eyes as he ran a hand over her side, steadfastly ignoring the slight urge in the back of her mind to attack him. 'I'm not really a cat. I'm a human. He's not hurting me on purpose. He wants to help me.' She heard him dialing and then his frantic voice.

"Lory! Kyoko's hurt." There was a sort silence. "Oh give it up. I know that Princess is Kyoko. No, I'm not going into how I know. Yes. I'm sure you are." Ren mumbled something under his breath. "Yes. Listen! Some kid kicked her. She won't stand up. Yes. Yes she is. No I do not!" She pinned her ears back and concentrated on the sound of the purring. "Okay. I will. I hate to carry her again. No, she isn't." She managed to block out the rest of the conversation as he picked her up again, mumbling apologies.

Ren placed his head in his hands as he waited for the vet. 'Why did I leave her out on the street? Why did I listen to her? How could I be so stupid?' Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Tsuruga-san?" He lifted his head and caught the vet's eye. He stood immediately and she took a step back.

"Is she okay?" He blurted anxiously.

"She'll be fine. She was just stunned, and she'll be in pain for a little while. We have her on some painkillers and she's still groggy." Ren nodded. "She may not want to eat for a little while, but make sure she drinks plenty of water. Okay?" he nodded again, drumming his fingers on the side of his leg in impatience. "Just make sure she takes these." The woman handed him a bottle of small pills. "Every day, twice a day." She smiled. "You don't have to worry so much. She's okay." He finally smiled a little, relief coursing through his body.

'If I had lost her...' He shook his head. He couldn't even bear to think about it.

Kyoko awoke again in Ren's arms. Shifting a little, she tried to make her groggy brain respond to find out where she was. Looking around as much as possible, she realized that she was on his lap, one of his hands resting lightly on her back and the other around her. They were in his living room, and the TV was turned on low. She glanced up at him and met his dark brown eyes. He released a long breath and carefully ran his hand over her back. "Hey. How are you?" She blinked a few times and meowed, trying to reassure him. "I got you a hamburger steak with egg." He offered softly. "Do you want to try and eat something?" She shook her head a little, starting to stand, but his hand was firm on her back. "You need to lie still." He said softly. "I'm just going to bring you a bite to eat, okay? You have to take your medicine."

He carefully moved her from his lap and started to get up. "Tsuruga-san? Are you mad at me?" She meowed softly. Turning, he looked down at her.

"What?"

"Are you mad at me." She meowed again, frustrated. 'I just want to be able to talk to him again!" His eyes were sad.

"I'm sorry. I can't understand you. Do you need something?" His hand ghosted over her head, carefully smoothing the fur there.

Giving up, she dropped her head back onto the sofa and shook it. He brought a small plate with a piece of hamburger steak and a small pill on it. He knelt down beside her and placed the plate on the sofa. "Come on. Try to eat a little bit."

She stared in wonder at the man for a few seconds. 'I do not believe this. He isn't mad at all. He…he really cares about me. He was scared that I was hurt…and now he's taking care of me. This is why I love him…what?' Her eyes widened, but she managed to choke down a bite of the food and the pill as her mind worked. She had known that she had feelings for him for a while…but to be openly admitting that she loved him? 'What happened? Why am I okay with this! Love brings nothing but sorrow and pain….' She stopped, thinking about Ren. 'No…he's never hurt me. I've never been sad because he did something to me…well…not since he stopped being mean.' The thought made her smile a little. For some reason, she thought about his temper with more fondness than irritation. 'I really must love him…it's different than how I felt with Sho.' She placed her chin on her paws as Ren carried the plate into the other room. "I love him." She meowed. "But how am I supposed to tell him?"

The red fairy crossed her arms and smiled triumphantly at her friend.

"Mo. What is that look for? You got her hurt."

"I didn't get her hurt! Don't be so mean!" The blue fairy rolled her eyes.

"Fine. Why are you happy."

"Because she loves him."

"How do you know?"

"She just said it!"

"MO! How am I supposed to know that? I don't speak cat!"

"Okay, fine. But it is what she said. She said, 'I love him. But how am I supposed to tell him?'"

"That's nice…now she can't speak to him and tell him how she feels. Are you going to change her back?"

"Not just yet…" She smiled cheerfully. "Kyoko has to figure out how to tell him that she loves him first!"

"How? She's a cat! Haven't you meddled enough?" The heartbroken look on Red's face made her groan. "Mo! I'm sorry. Didn't you say you wanted ice cream?" Immediately her mind was off of her friend's meanness and onto the yummy treat they had discovered in Tokyo.

"OH yea! Let's go! Hurry! Before they close!"

"MO! We just fly through the window anyway!" She let her friend drag her out the window and down the street.

Kuu was furious. Lory was refusing his phone calls. His son wasn't answering his calls. Kyoko's cell went straight to voice mail. Drumming his fingers, he glared out the window until he felt his wife's hand on his own.

"Hey. We're almost there." She kissed his cheek, melting his bad mood immediately. "We can talk to Lory and find out what's going on." He sighed and lifted the TV tray on the back of the seat in front of him, lifting his arm and wrapping it around her as Japan came into view.

A/N: So if you haven't guessed, I love fluffy drama….I hope you do too :) Thanks for reading.